7th President of the United States Andrew Jackson
Born: 15th March, 1767 in Waxhaw, South Carolina.
Died: 8th June, 1845 at the Hermitage near Nashville, Tennessee.
Political Party: Democrats/ Democratic Republicans
Term(s) in office: 1829-1837
Vice President(s): John C. Calhoun (1829-1832) Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
- In a short space of time, between the years of 1832 and 1833, there wasn't any Vice Presidents. -
Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained. ... The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union.
--Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address, 1833
Andrew Jackson, a tall, lean man with bushy iron-grey hair brushed high above a prominent forehead, craggy eyebrows and blue eyes, was the campion of the Western and Southern states. In his time, the "Spoils System" was introduced, "The Tariff of Abominations" was passed, the "Indian Removal Act" was sought upon and The Bank of the United States was deemed unconstitutional. For these reasons, I want to give Mr Jackson a D- for Presidency.
Andrew Jackson was not well educated, in fact he would, upon several occasions and even within a single letter, spell words in many different ways. He grew up in a place where fighting was prized above writing and, therefore, he was accustomed to the odd duel, stabbing and bloody fray. Basically, his early life affected that of his presidency. He would, more often than not, resort to violence where it was deemed rather unnecessary.
The goals of this President were to take power from others to restore balance, but at the same time he made it unbalanced because it showed a great increase in his own power. He decided, in 1832, to veto the Bill to recharter the Bank of the United States, for a simple fear that it was too powerful. The Bank did indeed control the financial affairs of the government, so it did act like its very own branch of government, without the title. Jackson distrusted this Bank because it monopolised its industry, something Jackson disliked very much. This was one of his main issues. He found it difficult to trust people, so he would replace people whom he assumed to being his opposition, and replaced them with people who, he knew, would serve him greatly, hence, the Spoils System. But in doing this, he also achieved his goal of replacing these said Republicans, and bringing Democrats into the White House.
Jackson's relationship with Congress was bad for the most part. He upset a lot of people by vetoing almost every Bill that was placed into his desk. He vetoed more Bill's than the first 6 Presidents combined! He tried, and failed, to attack J.Q. Adams by promoting a high tariff on goods, but the tariff was passed, to the Jacksonian's surprise; leaving them in the thick of it. The Spoils System did add to his power over his people, however. This made it possible to have all political offices engaged by Jacksonian's. This could have a great effect on his comfort in Presidency, surrounded by loyal men who agreed with everything he said, for the most part. Or it could bite him in the backside and he would end up appointing someone who was only in it for his own greed of money and political power; which, of course, he did.
There was nothing significantly great that Jackson did. He stopped succession of the South over the North, but he had to resort to violence to do it! The worst decision he made was obviously the vetoing of the Bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. This down right imbecilic decision caused the Untied States to go into the Panic of 1837. It was a terrible time for the Nations' Economy. Jackson tried to defend his decision, saying he personally believed it was harmful to the Nation and that the Bank was so obviously unconstitutional. This issue was later juggled in the Election of 1832.
From looking at all the evidence, it is clear to say that the United States definately didn't gain anything from his Presidency, but suffered horrendously. The whole country was set into a direction that would be increasingly difficult for his successor, Van Buren, to get himself out of. He left an agonising migraine to Van Buren, whereas Jackson got mere headaches from J.Q. Adams. This is why I award thee, Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson, a D-; for being all brawn and no brain.
7th President of the United States
Andrew Jackson
Born: 15th March, 1767 in Waxhaw, South Carolina.
Died: 8th June, 1845 at the Hermitage near Nashville, Tennessee.
Political Party: Democrats/ Democratic Republicans
Term(s) in office: 1829-1837
Vice President(s): John C. Calhoun (1829-1832) Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
- In a short space of time, between the years of 1832 and 1833, there wasn't any Vice Presidents. -
Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained. ... The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union.
--Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address, 1833
Andrew Jackson, a tall, lean man with bushy iron-grey hair brushed high above a prominent forehead, craggy eyebrows and blue eyes, was the campion of the Western and Southern states. In his time, the "Spoils System" was introduced, "The Tariff of Abominations" was passed, the "Indian Removal Act" was sought upon and The Bank of the United States was deemed unconstitutional. For these reasons, I want to give Mr Jackson a D- for Presidency.
Andrew Jackson was not well educated, in fact he would, upon several occasions and even within a single letter, spell words in many different ways. He grew up in a place where fighting was prized above writing and, therefore, he was accustomed to the odd duel, stabbing and bloody fray. Basically, his early life affected that of his presidency. He would, more often than not, resort to violence where it was deemed rather unnecessary.
The goals of this President were to take power from others to restore balance, but at the same time he made it unbalanced because it showed a great increase in his own power. He decided, in 1832, to veto the Bill to recharter the Bank of the United States, for a simple fear that it was too powerful. The Bank did indeed control the financial affairs of the government, so it did act like its very own branch of government, without the title. Jackson distrusted this Bank because it monopolised its industry, something Jackson disliked very much. This was one of his main issues. He found it difficult to trust people, so he would replace people whom he assumed to being his opposition, and replaced them with people who, he knew, would serve him greatly, hence, the Spoils System. But in doing this, he also achieved his goal of replacing these said Republicans, and bringing Democrats into the White House.
Jackson's relationship with Congress was bad for the most part. He upset a lot of people by vetoing almost every Bill that was placed into his desk. He vetoed more Bill's than the first 6 Presidents combined! He tried, and failed, to attack J.Q. Adams by promoting a high tariff on goods, but the tariff was passed, to the Jacksonian's surprise; leaving them in the thick of it. The Spoils System did add to his power over his people, however. This made it possible to have all political offices engaged by Jacksonian's. This could have a great effect on his comfort in Presidency, surrounded by loyal men who agreed with everything he said, for the most part. Or it could bite him in the backside and he would end up appointing someone who was only in it for his own greed of money and political power; which, of course, he did.
There was nothing significantly great that Jackson did. He stopped succession of the South over the North, but he had to resort to violence to do it! The worst decision he made was obviously the vetoing of the Bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. This down right imbecilic decision caused the Untied States to go into the Panic of 1837. It was a terrible time for the Nations' Economy. Jackson tried to defend his decision, saying he personally believed it was harmful to the Nation and that the Bank was so obviously unconstitutional. This issue was later juggled in the Election of 1832.
From looking at all the evidence, it is clear to say that the United States definately didn't gain anything from his Presidency, but suffered horrendously. The whole country was set into a direction that would be increasingly difficult for his successor, Van Buren, to get himself out of. He left an agonising migraine to Van Buren, whereas Jackson got mere headaches from J.Q. Adams. This is why I award thee, Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson, a D-; for being all brawn and no brain.
Bibliography
"Andrew Jackson." State Library of North Carolina. 18 July 2007. 16 Oct. 2008 http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/bio/public/jackson.htm.
"Andrew Jackson." The White House. 16 Oct. 2008 http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/aj7.html.
PresidentsUSA. 2007. CB Presidential Research Services. 16 Oct. 2008 http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvplist.html.
http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/bio/public/jackson.htm
http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvplist.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/aj7.html